


The Fallen Lion

by Celia_Cipher



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Angst, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Galra Keith (Voltron), Gay, I didn't like OC stuff until I accidentally made my own, Keith is captured, Lance is really worried about Keith, Lance/Keith isn't really super big in this fanfic because they're apart most of the time, M/M, Non-Sexual Slavery, Torture, it's better than it sounds, its good, shiro is a clone, trust me - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-03-07
Updated: 2019-01-15
Packaged: 2019-03-28 03:43:11
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 6
Words: 9,613
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13895505
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Celia_Cipher/pseuds/Celia_Cipher
Summary: After Lance and Keith have a fight, a battle goes wrong and Keith is captured. After being tortured for information from Haggar, he is sold as a servant to a high-ranking Galra. Will Keith be able to stand it? Or will he break under the pressure of his new agenda?





	1. The Capture

**Author's Note:**

> Hi! This fic has been in the works for a while, but I finally decided to just publish what I have. I might not ever finish it, so don't be too disappointed if I don't! However, I'll definitely try my best to. Happy reading!

“You know what Keith, maybe I  _ never want to hear your damn voice again! _ ” Lance yelled in anger, turning on a heel to storm out of the lounge. “I wish you would just-just- shut up forever!”

“L-Lance!” Keith yelled in response. “I’m sorry! Please?”

But the doors were already sliding shut, and he could no longer hear Lance’s footsteps. 

He sunk to the floor and rested his head on his knees. God, why had he gone that far?

It had started out as just normal bickering, no real harm intended, before Lance had accidentally touched a nerve. With that, Keith got defensive and lashed out. Then their argument had only gotten more intense, until Keith finally made a rude statement about Lance’s family. 

That had been the last straw, and sent Lance into a fit of rage. He had begun to rant at Keith, finally snapping and storming away. 

Keith felt  _ awful _ . He knew he had crossed a line, and would do anything to take it back. 

He was about to get up and follow Lance when Allura’s voice came through the speakers. “Paladin’s, quickly, get to your lions! We’ve stumbled upon one of Zarkon’s military training centers! We’ve got to take it out!”

Keith’s eyes shot up to the ceiling speakers, and he stumbled up, rubbing his eyes. He would apologize to Lance after the mission, and then everything would go back to normal. Right?

 

~TIMESKIP~

 

Wrong. Keith was terribly, terribly wrong.

 

Keith cried out as his shoulder was twisted roughly. The training center had been alerted of Voltron’s appearance, and they were fully aware of Voltron’s approach. Every one of them had been ready, hiding, and then springing a surprise attack. 

None of the paladins had been prepared for this, so as soon as they had fought enough off, they all quickly got back into their lions and settled for attacking the base from outside.

Except for one paladin. He never made it back into his lion.

The impulsive boy had led the team through the corridors when they had first been attacked, so naturally, he was the last to come back. 

Keith was making sure that his friends in front of her were all safe, save for the occasional bump and bruise. When the path looked clear except for a few fallen Galra in the corridor, Keith made his move. “Run, guys! The path is clear! Keep attacking from outside in your lions!”

The team began to sprint forwards, jumping over body after body. Sadly, once everyone had rounded the corner except Keith, he felt a hand around his ankle.

He yelped as he came crashing down, his bayard skittering out of his hand. Keith kicked wildly and looked behind him as soon as the hand loosened. 

Apparently, one of the dying trainee’s had grabbed Keith as he ran, preventing him from leaving with the other paladins as fully grown Galra flooded the halls behind him. He stumbled upwards, but it was too late. Multiple Galra slammed into him, restraining him and knocking him to the floor again. 

His head hit the floor with a loud thunk, and Keith faintly heard the screaming of his concerned teammates in his ears.

“Keith! Where are you? We’re attacking from outside!” He heard Lance yell. 

“Take black,” Keith said, before the galra on top of him grabbed his head and slammed it into the floor again. Keith’s vision began to fade, and he quickly fell into unconsciousness.

 

~TIMESKIP~

 

Keith groaned softly as he opened his eyes. Everything was much too bright, and he let them fall shut again.

After a short amount of time spent trying to let his eyes adjust through a crack, he heard a voice next to his ear. “Well, young paladin,” She began, running a nail under his chin. “I think we should have a little chat.”

Keith’s eyes snapped open to look at her and he cried out in pain. The light had gotten even brighter, and Keith snapped his eyes shut again.

Even though Keith had shut his eyes fairly quickly, he was still able to see the witch, Haggar, looming over him. Wait, was he strapped down?

He tried to raise his arms, but they were immediately pulled back down by metal cuffs. 

“Black Paladin, you’ll be staying here for quite a long time. I’ll try to get some information out of you of your own accord, but if you refuse to cooperate, I will have to operate on your vocal cords.” Keith could practically feel her malicious smile through his closed eyelids. “I have recently made a prototype for new vocal cords for enemies of the Galra empire. Would you like to hear what they do to you, little boy?”

Keith grimaced. “Yes.” He rasped. He was curious, and saying yes wouldn’t hurt him, only get him more information. 

Haggar let out a short, rough laugh. “Since you asked so nicely, I’ll tell you. They forbid you from saying anything but the truth, and only to certain masters. You will be unable to lie, and you will have a master to control you at all times. They will control your voice.”

Keith froze, and then bucked off the table as hard as he could, fighting furiously to loosen the cuffs on his hands.

Haggar sighed. “I didn’t want to injure such a fine test subject before his trial, but I suppose I‘ll try to make you talk on your own first.” 

She flipped a small switch on her control board, and suddenly Keith was filled with the most excruciating pain that he had ever felt. He screamed, thrashing against his bonds.

After what felt like an eternity, the pain stopped, and Keith slumped back on the table, gasping, dry sobs choking him.

“Are you going to tell me anything about the Voltron team? The names of the paladin’s? Their leader? And those rebel Galra? We need information about those traitors.”

Keith waiting a moment to catch his breath, and then opened his mouth. “Go to hell.” He stated, bracing for another shock.

Haggar chuckled, and Keith looked at her, confused. His eyes had flown open as he was being shocked, and had slowly adjusted. “Stupid child. There are 50 levels of pain on this machine, each increasing by great levels. A boy as weak as you would die at level 30, so if you still feel silent at level 29, I’ll operate and sell you to a master. Let’s move on to level 2, shall we?”

She moved a dial and flipped the switch again. Keith screeched as he was hit with pain a thousand times worse than the previous one. His voice broke off about halfway through, and he continued to silently scream as the torture continued. 

After it ended, he fell back again, sobbing hot, wet tears that streamed down his face. He continued to cry for what felt like hours, promising himself internally that whatever happened, he wouldn’t sell out his team. 

 

After hours of the torture, Keith had gotten to level 7 before blacking out. He assumed the droids had brought him to a cell, and slowly pulled himself upwards. He sniffed as he slowly opened his eyes, and looked around. The walls were a smoky gray color, and the cell was lit by a small, purple, glowing light. It pulsed over the cell door, illuminating a small plate of food in front of the door. Keith crawled over to it, gritting his teeth from the lingering pain. He pulled the plate towards him, and reached out to touch the strange substance on it. As soon as his pinky made contact with the...thing, he gagged and fell back. It was slimy and soft, with a mucus-like webbing stretching from the food to his finger. He wiped his finger on the floor and pulled himself backwards. 

Sure, he was hungry, but Keith wasn’t that desperate for food. He rested his back against the wall in the back of the cell, wrapped his arms around his knees, and put his head down. His team- no, his family would come for him soon, right?

Keith fell into a fleeting sleep before the next day was ready for him.


	2. The Start of Something Terrible

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Keith starts to break under his new environment.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm new to this whole Chapter Title thing, so if anyone can reccomend a better title, please do!

“No, nope, we’re going to go back and get him, right now!” Lance yelled furiously at Allura. “Are you kidding? There’s no way we’re leaving him at the mercy of those evil bastards!”

“Lance, calm down!” She yelled back. “We’re not leaving Keith anywhere! We just need to wait for more information. He’s no longer in that training base, and there are millions of Zarkon’s ships spread throughout the galaxy! We have no idea where he is!”

Lance scoffed. “Are you kidding me? He’s a PALADIN of VOLTRON! I’ll bet my entire goddamn life that he’s at their main ship, being tortured by Zarkon or Haggar as we speak! Can we please just go check?”

Hunk stepped up behind Lance. “Y’know, Princess, I think that Lance is right. All of us are the #1 Public Enemies of the entire universe, so I’d bet that if any of us were captured, we’d go straight to Zarkon.”

Allura opened her mouth to argue, but then closed it and nodded her head. “That  _ is _ a valid theory,” She pondered, deep in thought.

Finally, she looked up and nodded. “Alright. I’ll wormhole a galaxy or two away from his main fleet, and then we’ll slowly approach. But we need a plan. Shiro? You’re the best at that.”

She looked over at Shiro, who shook his head. “We have no one on the inside anymore, and we don’t even know if he’s there. I honestly don’t want to risk it.”

Everyone turned to him in shock. “Seriously?!” Lance yelled. “You’re his brother! I’d have thought you would be the most determined to find him!”

Shiro scratched his neck. “I want to find him, I do! But we don’t know for sure if he’s there, and even if he is, we don’t know what part of the fleet he’s in.”

Allura nodded. “That’s true, but since it’s Keith, it’s most likely that he would either be in the prison block or somewhere near Zarkon himself. They need information, so maybe he’s with Haggar. We know that she is in charge of-” She cut off and cleared her throat, turning her head to look at the floor. “Acquiring information through unconventional means…”

Hunk jerked his head in her direction. “Do you mean-  _ do you mean torture? _ ” He asked in horror. 

Pidge brought a hand to her mouth and let out a dry sob. “No….no way! Keith wouldn’t- he’s too- he’d never let them!” She looked around at everyone wildly, and then slowed to a stop and dropped her gaze to the floor. “Right?”

Lance stepped next to her and put an arm around her shoulder. “Of course, Pidge. The Keith we know would never go down without a fight. I’m sure he’s holding his own until we can show.”

Hunk nodded and stepped closer. “Of course he is.” He bent down to give both Lance and Pidge a hug, and nodded. “Wherever he is, Keith is fine, and he’ll be even better as soon as we can get him. There’s no way he would ever let something happen to him.”

Lance nodded, but he heard the uncertainty in Hunk’s voice. “I know you’re right, Hunk.” He said, but he could feel his heart sinking.

 

Allura stepped forwards. “Whether or not Shiro is helping, we need a plan. Any ideas?”

 

~BACK TO KEITH~

 

Keith lay on the floor of his cell, curled into a fetal position and crying his eyes out. After getting to Level 15 of the machine, his tears had turned into blood, and both of his wrists had snapped from struggling against his bonds. They had been bandaged and braced, but obviously the Galra had refused to put him into a healing pod. Haggar had said that due to his injuries so far, Level 25 would kill him instead of 30, so they would go up to all of the levels the next time he was sound in body and mind. 

Suddenly, he heard a soft thud inside his cell, like someone falling down. He jerked his head up, and wiped his eyes.

There was a figure on the ground in front of him, lying down in obvious pain. Keith dragged himself away from the figure, coming to rest his back on the cool metal walls of the cell. 

 

“K-Keith?”

“Lance?!” Keith sprung away from the wall, towards Lance. “What are you doing here? A-Are you ok?” Keith asked, wincing at the sudden movement. 

He saw Lance cough lightly, and felt sick at the sight of blood splattering on the floor.  “Oh my god, Lance!”

He gently turned Lance over and gasped. There was a hole in Lance’s side, with a steady stream of blood oozing out of it.  “Oh god no, we need to get you somewhere safe-”

“Your fault…” 

Keith wasn’t sure if he had heard Lance speak, or if it was just a figment of his imagination. “W-what?”

Lance’s head lolled towards him, and he weakly glared at Keith. “It was your fault. You-” He coughed, shuddering, and continued. “Left us, and we were captured. All of us…”

Lance drew in a shuddering breath, and then his head fell to the side.

“Lance!” Keith grabbed his face, but it was too late. He was dead.

“Lance…” Keith curled his body around Lance, and sobbed. “Lance…”

 

That was the final straw. Lance blamed him, and the rest of the team was dead, so why not just die?

He laughed hollowly and clutched Lance’s body tighter, tears splattering on the cold metal floor.

 

~A WEEK LATER~

 

Keith followed limply after his captors, drained of all will. When he reached the room, he walked straight up to the table, not bothering to put up a fight, or resist.

“Well, little Paladin,” Haggar drawled. “I suppose that your will has been broken? Will you tell us your information without persuasion now?”

Keith looked her in the eye before dropping his head back onto the table. 

Haggar sighed. “Well, I suppose we’ll go up to Level 25 before replacing your vocal cords.”

The table swiveled upright, and Keith lazily flicked his eyes around the room. He was about to close them before they shot open and he cried out in horror.

 

There in the corner of the room, was Pidge’s body, crumpled up and drenched in blood. Blood was also splattering the walls around her, and her eyes were frozen open in a permanent position of terror.

“Pidge!” Keith yelled, starting to strain against his bonds. “Katie!”

 

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw his guards start, and one walked towards Haggar. “Katie! Wake up, please!”

 

He heard Haggar and the guard conversing next to him, but didn’t hear any of the conversation. He continued to scream and struggle until a guard ran in front of him, blocking his view of Pidge’s body. He writhed around on the slab until the guard moved, and then stopped, confused. Where Pidge’s body had been a second ago, there was now only a table. The bloodstains and body had disappeared, leaving not a trace.

“What?” He asked himself weakly. He looked over a Haggar, who greeted him with a sickening smile. 

“It looks like this captivity is starting to get to him.” She said, smirking at the guard. “This should get much more fun.” She turned back to Keith. “For us, of course.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright, chapter two! Please remember to leave kudos and comments!


	3. The Operation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Keith loses it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whoo! Chapter three!!! LETS GOOO

After the very last level, Keith had somehow managed to stay conscious. His eyes were open only slivers as he was carried back to his cell, but he could still see bloodstains covering the walls, the guards, and the floor.

He moved to cry out, to struggle, but his limbs wouldn’t move. A few tears leaked out of his eyes as he faded into unconsciousness, visions of dying friends and allies floating in his tormented dreams. 

 

~CASTLE~

 

Lance turned fitfully in his sleep, before awaking with a start. He breathed heavily, sweat dripping from his forehead, before bringing his knees to his chest and burying his head in between them. He retched, but didn’t vomit. 

 

After he had regained his breathing, he began to softly cry. He had just had the worst nightmare of his life, and it continued to haunt him after he awoke.

In his dream, Keith had been strapped down onto an upright board, and was being tortured and taunted. Galra circled around him like predators, and continuously either struck him of said something about his family, how no one loved him, how everyone he loved would end up dead or worse. Keith could do nothing but cry and listen, and was powerless to fight back.

 

This had continued throughout the night, and before Lance had awoken, Keith had gotten free, grabbed a knife-

  
  


-and plunged it through his own chest.

In the dream, Lance screamed and ran towards Keith, who was smiling sadly at him.

“It’s alright,” He had said. “Lance, everything’s fine now”

“No,” Lance sobbed, hands scrambling to find the handle of the blade, to pull it out- “No, it’s not! You’re dying!”

Keith chuckled grimly. “That’s why. I-” He coughed suddenly, spasms wracking his body as blood splattered the ground in front of him. “Now,” He shuddered and his eyelids drooped. “Now you’ll be…..be safe from me. I hurt everyone-”He suddenly went limp and slumped against Lance, who held him to his chest and sobbed. 

“-Everyone around me.” Keith said, before his eyes closed and his breathing faded.

Lance simply held him for a moment, uncomprehending the imposing silence. Then his eyes snapped wider and he jerked his head down to look at Keith.

“Keith?” He asked weakly. “Keith!”

There was no response, and just as Lance was about to scream and shake him, he jolted awake, back in the castle.

 

He continued to cry as he tried to comfort himself, tried to tell himself that Keith was alive, he was alright, and he was just sleeping in the next room, perfectly ok. That he would be there when Lance entered his room.

 

Lance slowly trudged from his bed to the hallway, and then stood in front of Keith’s door before taking another deep breath.

He opened the door and winced at the sight of Keith’s bed. The entire room looked to empty. There was his usual outfit hanging on the wall, but other than that, there were no personal belongings whatsoever. It didn’t help that his bed looked like it hadn’t been slept in for forever, which, Lance thought with a grim laugh, he guess it hadn’t.

He tiptoed over to Keith’s bed and quietly lay down with a sigh.

“Goodnight, buddy.” He whispered.

 

~KEITH~

 

Keith screamed from the corner of his cell, clutching his head and crying with wild abandon. In his mind, blood soaked the floor, ankle deep and growing higher. Lying in the blood were the bodies of all of the team members, each mauled in a different way. 

As Keith screamed, multiple guards ran up and murmured amongst themselves, staring at him.

“B-blood,” Keith stammered, a shaky finger pointing here there, everywhere. “T-they’re de-dead.”

He began to scream again, and his hands swung back up to cover his ears.

 

From the guards perspective, there was just a small, underfed boy with burn marks on his neck and arms, making the most anguished, horrible noise that they had ever heard, even in a prison. He had shoved himself into the furthest corner of the cell, and his eyes were darting around the floor and walls, staring at things that weren’t even there.The guards could each see that the metal cell was clean as ever.

“Should we notify Haggar?” One asked the other, trying to discreetly cover his ears.

“I believe so. I don’t think that anything is supposed to make a noise like that. And he appears to be hallucinating.” She was also trying to cover her ears, and quickly turned in the direction of Haggar’s chambers.

  
  


“Mistress Haggar!” The male guard called, standing a few feet behind her door.

The door slid open after a few moments, and Haggar stepped into the doorway. “Yes?” She hissed. “Why have you disturbed me?”

The female guard stepped forwards and gave a small bow. “My apologies, Mistress. The paladin that we captured appears to be malfunctioning: he is making a horrible noise, and seems to be hallucinating.”

Haggar nodded. “Things have gone according to plan faster than I thought.” She strode forwards, heading towards the throne room. “No matter. Tranquilize him, and bring him to my operation room.”

 

~TIMESKIP~

 

Keith awoke again later, this time strapped to a horizontal table. He remembered nothing of the past few hours, if they even were just hours. He could have been out for years, the way his head hurt.

Looking to his left, he saw Haggar standing and talking to two druids. Upon seeing him, she made her way over to his table. “Hello, young paladin.” She hissed. “Feeling better? You were quite agitated earlier.”

Keith groaned and thumped his head on the table. Now he remembered. He had seen all of his friends, the people he cared about dead on the floor in his cell. That had been the worst experience of his life, and he was almost positive that he had blacked out before those two guards had returned.

Haggar smirked. “I see that you are. Well, we have news. Remember that operation that we said we would perform if you didn’t give us your intel? Well, time is up. We gave you a choice, but I see that you have chosen to ignore it. What happens next is your fault.”

 

She gestured to the druids, and they walked over, one holding a silver tray. “We  cannot perform this operation unless you are fully awake, but we will partially numb the area, and keep quintessence handy in case you lose too much blood.”

Keith’s eyes widened and he thrashed around, trying desperately to rid himself of the restraints. The third druid stepped into his line of sight, and held down his head and chest with overwhelming strength. The first druid stepped forwards with a scalpel from the tray, and slowly bent over Keith, measuring where on his neck to first cut.

 

Keith was unable to scream or cry out as his neck was cut to shreds, only leaving major arteries and avoidable veins intact.

Tears flowed from his eyes as he lay limply on the table. For some reason, a single memory continued to repeat in his head. 

_ “Well Keith, maybe I never want to hear your damn voice again! I wish you would just-just shut up forever!” _

“Well,” Keith though with bitter irony. “I guess Lance will get his wish.”

 

As the druid finished the stitches, stood up, and nodded to Haggar, Keith finally fell into blissful unconsciousness.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone! I'm so thankful for everyone that's reading my stuff! Please give kudos and comments! Nothing makes me happier!


	4. A New Home

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Keith is finally brought to the castle of his new owner.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter four!

Keith awoke back in his cell, and tried to reach a hand to his throat. He had to strain to lift it even an inch from the floor, and it soon fell back. He was leaning against the wall, and coughed.

He spasmed as the cough brought on a huge wave of pain that almost made him blackout. After it had faded, he sat back, breathing heavily. The adrenaline rush gave him enough power to lift a hand to shakily skim his fingers over his neck. 

The stitches were painfully large, but the cut seemed to have healed enough to stay shut by now. 

He moved to yell for help, for water, but was surprised as no sound came out. He paused before trying again, with the same result. He started to hyperventilate, but besides small gasps of breath, no sound came out.

As the room grew smaller and smaller, Keith felt that he couldn’t get enough ar into his lungs. He let out a soundless shriek before sinking back into blackness.

 

Keith awoke to the sounds of a marketplace. He slowly opened his eyes, and shook his head. Looking around, he saw the bars of a cell, but much smaller and closer. Was he in a….cage?

He tried to stand, but hit his head on the lid and hissed. Remembering his silence, he sat back down and started to rub his neck. Besides a hard, pulsing collar, the stitches had almost disappeared, so, how long had he been unconscious? Was Voltron even looking for him?

No, probably not. Keith hoped that they’d find a new paladin to replace him, or maybe just adjusted to life without him. 

 

His head jerked up as a jarring voice cut through the murmur of a surrounding crowd. 

“Ah, it seems that our most valuable lot has awoken!”

 

Keith peered up out of his cage to look at the speaker. It was a Galra, dressed in a suit and tie. The entire audience was dressed similarly, and looked very important.

“Lot 71, our very last item for auction. A former paladin of Voltron, who has been under capture for only three months and has already given up on their life. He refused to give any intel on the situation despite the most cutting-edge technology, and so we have replaced his vocal cords with controllable, quintessence-infused metal. They may only be used by order of the master of mistress that bids the most. The bidding will begin in 30 doboshes. Feel free to observe the specimen, but do not touch.”

 

Keith jerked himself to the back of his cage as a bunch of Galra walked up to his cage, complete with metal opera glasses and fancy dresses. His outfit had been changed to a loose-fitting, lavender v-neck, and red leggings reaching to about the middle of his shin. His ankles were chained together, but his hands were free. He continued to press his back against the side as the Galra crowded around, murmuring amongst themselves and discussing various prices.

He groaned and shut his eyes, hoping that they all would disappear.

 

30 doboshes later, the gavel was banged, causing all of the Galra to return to their seats. 

“The bidding shall now commence! It will start at Five Million GAC!”

Keith winces as the clawed hands flew up, surprisingly high amounts written on their paddles.

 

After about another 20 doboshes of bidding, it seemed that the majority of the audience had reached their breaking point. Less hands came up, and only one was consistent.

 

“Going to Sir Vextor for 9,500,000 GAC!” The auctioneer’s voice rang out over the crowded auditorium, loud and clear. “Going….going….and gone! SOLD!”

The gavel banged quickly, and groans rang out over the audience.

The Galra who had won stood up, and Keith guessed that that must be Sir Vextor.

 

He slowly made his way over to Keith’s cage, and peered inside, rolling his eyes at Keith’s furious glare. 

“How do I activate his vocal cords?” He asked the auctioneer. “It would be terribly boring to have him simply just sitting here silently.”

The auctioneer nodded and pulled a small, velvet bag out from behind the desk. “The remote is here, and it comes with a small file of instructions. This is simply a prototype, so it may not work all of the time. And every 40 movements or so, Haggar herself will send a guard or druid to check on his progress or try to gain information again. This is not an inconvenience, I hope?”

Sir Vextor nodded. “I am glad to be of service to the Galra empire.” He turned to Keith. “Come along!” He said, as the cage flickered and disappeared from around him. You will be following me to my mansion, and acting as my servant once their. I will give you your vocal cords back for about a day, so you may try to use them again. After that, it is at my will that you will be able to talk. Understand?”

Keith nodded, still glaring defiantly, and shakily stood. His legs trembled, and he almost collapsed. Sir Vextor reached out an arm to steady him, and Keith grabbed on despite telling himself not to. As soon as he was steady, he whipped his arms away and glared again.

Sir Vextor smirked and nodded to the auctioneer, turning to walk to the door.

Keith followed him, unsure of what would happen if he disobeyed. A ship waited for them at the door, and Keith reluctantly entered. He was led to a room in the back of the ship, which was complete with a small, lumpy cot, and a bathroom.

“Sir Vextor will see you when we have reached his mansion. Until then, he has told me to let you have your voice.” The teen boy in front of Keith fumbled in his pockets for something, and then pulled out the remote and hurriedly pressed a button.

Keith felt as if an immense pressure had been taken off of him, and he sighed in relief. 

“Thanks.” He rasped, smiling at the teen.

The boy blushed and bowed, hiding a small smile.

“I am another of Sir’s servants. My name is Xavier.” He was an alien, but a cute one. He had light blue skin, and his hair was a shaggy, dark purple. There were small orange devil horns on both sides of his head, and his eyes were sky blue. He had long eyelashes, and wore an outfit similar to Keith’s

Keith nodded. “Nice to meet you, Xavier. I’m Keith.”

Xavier blushed harder and smiled again. Bowing, he turned and hurried out of the room. 

Keith sat on the bed and sighed. 

He talked to himself for a little bit before resigning himself to sleep, he had a long journey ahead of him.

  
  


When Keith next awoke, the ship was shuddering in its landing, and Keith could feel the air rushing out from under the ship.

He jumped out of bed, reaching under his pillow for his knife. He sighed when he remembered where he was, and scratched his neck. Jesus, this would be a mess.

 

After a few hours of pacing and chewing his nails, Keith’s door finally opened. Xavier was standing there, a nervous look on his face and both hands behind his back. 

“Hey, um, Keith? I’m sorry about this, but you need to be handcuffed again in order for you to leave the ship.”

He cuffed Keith’s hands in front, and led him to the exit. Sir Vextor was nowhere to be seen, but there were droids all around the mansion. Keith lowered his head as he walked past them, afraid that they would shoot if he moved too quickly.

“It’s ok,” said Xavier. “They are programmed not to shoot people who have checked in beforehand. They have all the codes for landing and entering, and we are completely protected.”

Keith stayed tensed up, but he internally relaxed a bit. “That’s good to know. But,” He added. “Doesn’t that mean, if they have our identification, and we’re cleared, that we can come and go as we please?”

Xavier smiled. “Ha! I wish. No, we’re always being tracked. But as long as we have permission and a clear flight path, we can leave. Most of the time it’s for chores or escorting Sir somewhere, but I’ve been allowed to go get food for myself a few times. It’s not that bad here, as long as you do whatever he says, no matter how unusual or different it may be from what you normally do.”

Keith nodded, still unsure. “Sounds uncomfortable, and ominous.”

Xavier chuckled. “Well, they  _ are _ royals of the Galra empire. I’d be more scared if they weren’t creepy and ominous.”

He had a point. 

Xavier led Keith through the mansion, until they had come to a room similar to his on the castle. His breath caught in his throat upon seeing it, suddenly hit with a barrage of emotions.

He felt his eyes begin to water as he remembered the castle, and all of his friends. He coughed quietly, and bowed his head. 

“Hey, dude, you alright?”

“Yeah,” Keith looked up and blinked, and tried to remind himself that this was just a normal prison, that it had no similarities with the castle, and that his friends weren’t coming. “Yeah, it’s nothing.”

Xavier smiled. “Good. I hope you’re happy here, or at least get used to it. I’ll be here for you whenever you need me.”

He unlocked Keith’s handcuffs, and his hands slid down to lightly grasp Keith’s. “Just call me if you need me- for anything. Anything at all.”

He squeezed Keith’s hands and smiled.

As he went through the door. He turned back and gave Keith a small wave. His blush was evident in the now-purple tint of his cheeks. 

 

As he left, Keith moved to go sit on the bed. Was Xavier…..flirting with him?” He smiled, but it soon fell as he remembered all the people he had left behind, especially Lance.

God….Lance.

Keith tried to think of Lance’s voice, his face, but came up empty. His eyes began to water again, and he furiously scrubbed at them.

He missed everyone. He missed Shiro, Hunk, Pidge, Allura, Coran, and most of all Lance.

He internally chided himself for this thought, remembering how Lance had felt about him when he disappeared. The team was probably better without a weak link like him that could be captured at the drop of a hat, and Lance was probably happier now that he never had to see Keith again.

He felt a teardrop slowly drip down his cheek, and he groaned in exasperation and jumped up, beginning to pace. He couldn’t just sit and mope, wasn’t he supposed to be a paladin?

As soon as he had that thought, his door slid open. He looked up in time to see Sir Vextor stride across the room towards him, small remote in hand. He pressed a button, and Keith’s throat tightened.

He fell to the floor and gasped for air, but then realized that he could still breathe as well as normal. He reached a hand up to his throat and coughed, but no sound came out.

Sir Vextor sniffed. “Well, it does work. Very interesting. Has Xavier told you what things will be like here?”

Keith continued to stare at him, expecting a sudden kick or shock from the remote. It was the first time he had clearly seen Sir Vextor, and was astounded at how young he looked. He looked to be about in his mid-twenties, and looked good for a Galra. He had a lithe, athletic figure distinguishable even from under a suit, and had a perpetual look of cunning on his face. The ridges on his scalp looked a bit like they were slicked back,  and his claws were neatly trimmed. 

“Oh that’s right.” Sir pressed another button, and Keith felt his throat release. “I will show you.”

He reached out a hand to help Keith up, who warily took it and pulled himself to his feet. Sir slid his hand over to Keith’s waist, and gently pushed him forwards by the small of his back.

Keith longed to kick or run away, but he was unsure of what would happen if he did. He gritted his teeth and walked forwards with Sir, who pressed his other hand against the wall, opening a door to what Keith could only assume was a closet. 

Sir removed his hand from Keith’s back, and Keith visibly relaxed. But the he grabbed Keith’s hand, and he tensed up again.

Sir raised an eyebrow. “Keith, relax. I’m just helping you program your handprint into the system. You want to be able to open your closet every morning, right?”

Keith warily nodded and tried to relax his stance. Sir gently pressed Keith’s hand against the panel on the wall, and waited a few seconds before a clicking sound was heard. Sir let go of Keith’s hand, and Keith tried not to retract it too fast. 

“There, see?” Sir asked with a smirk. “Was that so hard?”

Keith shook his head. “Thank you,” He murmured reluctantly, unwilling to show real gratitude. 

Sire put his arm around Keith’s waist again, and led him into the closet.

 

It was a large, walk-in closet, with multiple drawers and many different areas of different colored clothing.

“Everything is already your size,” Sir said matter-of-factly. When Keith gave him a questioning look, he continued. “The auctioneer announced that you would be sold a few months before you arrived. I knew that I would go to whatever lengths to buy you, so I had a room and closet prepared for you.”

Gesturing to the drawers, he began to explain the layout of the room. “Your undergarments are in the drawers on the far side of the room, and above that are your nightclothes. There is a door to a private shower for you in the right corner there, which is equipped with as many soaps and luxuries as you please. On the right side of the closet are your clothes for outside, and on the left side are the clothes that you will wear inside of the mansion. I will give you free rein over your voice for exactly one hour whenever you perform above average. I happen to be having my brother and father over today to admire my new prize, so you will be given the chance to earn one hour. ”

He walked out, flicking the remote as he left. “Xavier will teach you the proper way to serve food as soon as you are changed. You have 5 hours to learn before my family arrives. Get started.”

 

After he had changed, Keith sighed. The only mirror was in the bathroom, and Keith didn’t feel like walking all the way there. He looked down at himself, and then ran a hand through his hair. It seemed neat enough, so he walked to the kitchen.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright, let's goooo  
> Please leave kudos, or even better, comments! Thank you!


	5. Introductions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Keith starts his work at the Galra palace.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you made it this far, thank you and enjoy!

Keith walked into the kitchen, greeting Xavier with a small wave. 

“Whoa!” Xavier said, raising his eyebrows. “You look amazing!”

Keith smiled and blushed, averting his eyes. “ _ Thanks,”  _ He mouthed silently _. _

Xavier clicked his tongue. “Ugh, did they do the thing?”

Keith nodded and reached up to fidget with his scar again.

Xavier lunged forwards and batted his hand away. “Don’t pick! It’ll never heal if you do.”

Keith looked at him for a second, and then nodded and lowered his hand. 

“Good. Now, Sir told me that you need to learn how to serve food?”

Keith nodded again and leaned against the counter. 

“Alright, it’s pretty easy. Celia here is the cook, and I’ll introduce you two in a second. So she cooks the food, and I put it on the counter and make sure that it looks nice and presentable. This is only for today, because maybe next week you’ll be the one plating the food. But Sir wants to see you today, so you’ll be serving.”

Keith waved for him to continue, peering around Xavier through the doorway, where a young Galra girl was busy hurrying around in the kitchen, rapidly throwing different ingredients into a pot. 

“Alright, so once I get all the food ready to leave the kitchen, you put it on one of these big silver trays here. Carry it with both hands, by the handles, or else everything will spill everywhere.”

Keith nodded and reached over to the tray nearest him, picking it up and seeing how much it weighed. 

“Now, normally, all royalty has floating platters that deliver their food, but Sir thinks that that’s kinda dumb, and thinks it showcases more power if he has live people working instead.”

Keith nodded.  _ “Makes sense, _ ” he thought.

 

Xavier looked over his shoulder, and then waved Keith towards the kitchen. “Here, I’ll introduce you guys now.”

They entered, and immediately Keith was hit with the most delicious aroma he had ever smelled. He looked at the girl in surprise. She couldn’t have been more than 15, yet she was here, serving as a cook in the home of an extremely influential Galra. She wore a short, light orange dress, covered with a dirty apron.

She looked up as they entered, and her concentrated face broke into a wide smile.

“Hi!” She wiped her hands on her apron and rushed around the counter between them. “You must be Keith, right? Pleasure! I’m Celia, but I’d prefer it if you called me Liv.”

She reached out a hand, and Keith shook it. She was a little bit shorter than him, and The ridges on her scalp were pink and green.

“I was… ‘employed’ here after I tried to send information from my former sector to a nearby rebel group. They would have killed me, but they learned about my special talent for cooking and decided to sell me instead. I know you can’t talk now, but as soon as you can, tell me about your backstory. I’m curious.”

Keith nodded.

Xavier pressed on his wrist, and a small holographic screen popped up. “Whoa! 2 hours until showtime, people!”

Celia laughed and ran back to her oven, pulling a pot out and emptying its contents. “Better get to work, guys! And don’t worry Keith, I’m sure you’ll do fine here.”

 

~THE CASTLE~

 

“We need to go, NOW!” Lance yelled, poking a finger at Shiro. “He could be being tortured now, for all we know!”

Shiro put a hand on Lance’s shoulder. “Lance, I know that you’re worried about Keith,” He looked to the side, awkwardly scratching his neck. “But he is very capable. I’m sure, right now, he’s finding a way to let us know where he is.”

Lance reached up and shoved Shiro’s hand away. “You know, you’ve been different ever since you came back. I think they did something to you. I don’t think that you know what you’re doing.”

Shiro backed away. “Um...Lance?” He said uneasily. “I know you’re upset, but that’s no reason to be making baseless accusations.”

Lance narrowed his eyes and stepped forwards. “No, no, now I’m even surer. You’re his brother, and you used to care about this team more than anyone else. I don’t think that you should be allowed around anymore. ALLURA!”

Shiro’s eyes widened and he whipped around, just as Allura walked through the door. “What’s wrong, Lance?”

“Get Shiro! I think the Galra did something to him while he was gone!”

Allura turned to glare at Shiro, who was inching towards the door. He held up his hands in a warding motion. “Now Allura, don’t you think that that’s a bit crazy?”

She strode purposefully towards him. “Maybe, but better safe than sorry!”

Shiro lunged for the door, away from Allura, but she was too fast. She grabbed his arm, twisting it around and slamming him to the floor.

“Allura! This is insane!”

The glared down at him, planting a foot on his back. “If you were really Shiro, you would realize that this is a necessity.  Think it over while we examine you in the cryo-pod.”

 

~KEITH~

 

Keith had been holding up platters for so long that his arms ached. “Come on!” Cheered Xavier. “His family arrives in 10 minutes, and you need to greet them at the door. Here, put on these gloves. You’re not supposed to touch them with your bare hands. Just stand there and bow, and take their coats. Then come back here once they’re settled, and wait until later to serve their dinner.

Keith nodded.  _ Seems easy. _

 

Keith stood at the door, holding it open for the two men outside. They both looked remarkably similar to Sir, but they seemed…...crueler somehow. They strode through the door, looking down at him in disdain. After they had entered, Keith quietly closed the door, and led them to the dining room, where Sir was waiting to greet them. 

He could hear them whispering behind him, and fought the urge to roll his eyes. As they entered, the younger one roughly shouldered him to the side as they walked past.

 

He waited until they were seated, and then turned and walked as quickly as he could back to the kitchen.

“I don’t like them,” He complained. “They creep me out.” He addressed Xavier, turning to the rows of trays on the counter.

“Wait, you’re speaking!” Xavier said, grabbing Keith’s forearms. “He must have turned it on for a bit.”

Keith rubbed his scar. “Oh, you’re right! I don’t even notice it anymore. That’s…...both good and bad…I guess?”

Xavier nodded. “I wonder why? You haven’t done much yet.”

Keith frowned. He was right. What was Sir doing?

 

“Keith? Can you come out here please?” Sir’s voice carried clearly through the doorway, and Keith immediately tensed. 

Xavier grabbed his shoulder. “Keith, you’d better go. It’ll be fine. His family isn’t that bad. They’re pretty similar to Sir.”

Keith took a deep breath, and crept out the door. He winced at the sight of everyone's eyes on him, and straightened up. He walked forwards until he was standing next to Sir.

“You called, Sir?” What the hell was wrong with him? Normally he would have cursed at him, or spit in his face.

“Hmm…..he looks like a fine servant.” This time it was the father who spoke. “Turn around.”

Keith grit his teeth and turned, facing away from the man. “Looks perfect. Hair is just a bit too long, though. I hope you don’t mind?”

Sir shook his head. “Not at all. His room is out the door, turn right, and four doors down. You’ll find a pair of scissors in the sink.”

Keith’s eyes widened and he whirled around, but it was too late. Sr. Vector had already risen and grabbed his arm. He proceeded to drag Keith to his room, who was powerless to stop him. For an elderly, he was extremely strong. 

They got to his room, and Sr. let go of his arm. “Sit on that chair,” He said, gesturing to a chair near the bathroom. “I’ll be back with supplies in a moment.”

Keith had a clear pathway to the door, and from there he could run straight to the yard where the ships were kept.

He stepped forwards, and then took another step. Just as he was about to sprint, he felt an emotion that he hadn’t felt in years. 

**_Terror_ ** . 

His breath caught, and he froze in place. What would happen if he escaped? Could he find his way back to the team? Did they forget him? Would anything happen? Would he get caught? What would happen is he was caught? Would they take away his entire voice? Would he be tortured again? No, he couldn’t deal with that again. He felt his breath quicken, and heard footsteps behind him. 

Without a second thought, he ran to the chair, and sat down. Sr. walked over and moved the chair with ease. “I will put this blanket over you, and cut it to regulation for a slave. It will not be too short, but it will be considerably shorter than your current cut.”

Keith nodded shakily. What had happened to him? Why hadn’t he run?

He barely noticed as the scissors began to cut; snip, snip, snip. He was way too deep in thought. 

 

After about thirty minutes, he noticed that his neck felt considerably colder.

“Done.” Sr. said solemnly, and picked up the blanket that he had covered Keith with. “Your mirror is in the bathroom. Observe the new cut, and then return to present yourself to the dining room for Sir to approve of.”

With that, he left, leaving Keith still dazed.

Keith slowly stood, and then looked down at his legs. They were trembling, knees nearly knocking together.

He laughed shakily, and then softly hit himself.

God, he felt like he was going insane. He took a deep breath and walked to the bathroom. 

He looked in the mirror and felt his heart stop. Was that….him?

Keith hadn’t seen a mirror in ages, and the one he looked in now almost gave him a heart attack. He didn’t look  _ anything _ like himself.

His skin had turned into a lilac shade of purple, and his hair had turned dark purple. His pupils had shifted to a dandelion yellow, and his canines had grown and sharpened. Aside from all that, his hair was now a little longer than the length of Lance’s when Keith had last seen him. It still covered his forehead, but his bangs were a bit shorter, and his neck was completely exposed. 

Keith could see the  _ thing _ in the mirror beginning to panic, breaths getting shorter and faster, and cheeks becoming flushed. He still was unable to recognize the person in the mirror as himself, and fainted in a manner of minutes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! A new chapter should be up soon. Remember, please leave comments and kudos!


	6. Chapter 6

He awoke to Xavier’s face suspiciously close to his, looking at him with panic.

Keith jerked upwards, only for his forehead to collide roughly with Xavier’s. “Ow!”

Xavier rubbed his forehead, and helped Keith sit up. “Are you alright? Do you think that you can stand?”

Keith nodded and grabbed Xavier’s hand, pulling himself up. “What-”

Xavier interrupted. “After Sir’s father cut your hair, you were gone for about half a varga. They sent me to see if you were alright, and I found you unconscious on the bathroom floor. What happened?”

The memories of what happened flooded back to Keith, and he shuddered. “Oh God,” He fell to the floor again and curled in on himself, fisting his hands in his now-short hair.

Xavier went stiff. “Um, are you ok?” He slapped himself in the face. “Obviously not. Do you want to talk about it?”

Keith shook his head. “No, not-” He took a breath. “Not right now.”

Xavier nodded solemnly. “Alright. Not to be insensitive, but Sir could very likely throw a fit if you don’t return soon. Do you think that you can come back and serve?”

Keith nodded shakily. “Of course. Just…..just give me a tick.”

“Of course. I’ll wait with you, just in case.”

 

After another few minutes, Keith decided that he was ready to go serve. “Alright, let’s go.” He said, uncurling and picking himself off of the floor. “I’m okay now.”

Xavier took his arm. “Good. I’ll be here whenever you want to talk, you know.”

Keith laughed softly. “Thanks. I don’t know what I would do here without you.”

Xavier blushed. “Come on. Let’s get this over with.”

 

~TIMESKIP~

 

Sir had questioned him, but Keith was able to make a few excuses, and the matter was soon dropped. “You look good with short hair, Keith.”

Keith accepted the compliments with a bowed head, but he wasn’t really listening. He was more focused on what he had looked like. How had that happened? Why had his appearance changed so drastically?

Soon after, dinner was over. “It is time for my family to retire,” Sir said, standing and curling an arm around Keith. “You will show them to their rooms, correct?”

Keith nodded, as his voice had been disabled when he got back.

Keith led Sr. to his room, and then started to lead Sir’s brother to his room.

He stopped at the door, and turned to leave.

“Oh, come on,” cooed the brother. “Won’t you escort me inside?”

Keith blinked, surprised. That was such an informal tone, and for it to be addressed to a slave, he must be plotting something.

He shook his head and turned to leave. 

Suddenly he felt a hand grab his upper arm, and gasped soundlessly at the strength.

“ _ I said, _ ” The brother warned, practically snarling in Keith’s face. “ _ Escort me inside _ .”

 

Normally, Keith would have snarled back, or just ran, but then he felt scared again. Is breath caught, and he started to shake, barely stopping himself from crying. Slowly, he lowered his head and shuffled into the dim chamber.

The brother smirked. “That’s better. Address me as Master from now on, as soon as your voice is returned.”

He led Keith to the couch on the opposite side of the room, sat down, and gestured for Keith to sit next to him. 

Keith warily sat a few feet away, on the opposite end. 

Master grabbed his already bruised arm and yanked him closer. “Now, lets get to know each other a bit more closely, shall we?”

Keith tried to jerk away, but Master held his arm too tightly. “Now now, let’s have none of that. I’m trying to be friendly with you, slave.”

Keith felt his breathing speed up. No….. no, he didn’t want this! He sobbed silently and struggled more desperately. 

“Hey, are you retarded or something?” Master snarled. “I’m an influential, rich galra. If you let me do what I want, I’ll treat you nicely. Get you some nice clothes and lessen your workload. Any sane slave would agree.”

Keith felt a few tears fall from his eyes as he continued to try and tug himself from the Galra’s strong grip.

His breathing had sped up even further, and Keith could feel the room begin to spin around him. He felt an intense, burning pressure on his head, and gasped for air.

“Jesus Christ, what’s wrong with you?”

His voice sounded distorted and wrong to Keith, and he stopped trying to pull away. Instead, he brought his free hand up to his head and pressed it to his temple. He staggered, barely noticing as Sir’s brother let go.

He fell to the floor and curled up into a ball, gasping and crying. Everything was cold, way too cold. The only thing that wasn’t cold was his head, which felt as if molten lava was being poured over it.

He tried to cry out, to call for help, but his voice didn’t work. Even if it did, he wasn’t sure that anything other than a whisper would have come out.

He could feel his heart pounding in his chest, threatening to break through and render him lifeless.

With a final sob, he saw the room around him go dark, and the last sound he heard was the thumping of his heart in his chest.

 

~THE CASTLE~

 

“-and that’s why I believe that Shiro is a clone, or something of the similar sort.” Lance finished his presentation to the rest of the team with a nod to Allura, who turned to the rest of the team.

“Well? Do you think it makes sense?” She asked. “Personally, I can believe his reasoning. Shiro just hasn’t been the same since he returned.

Hunk scratched his chin. “Now that you mention it, he has been acting strange.”

Pidge nodded. “Yeah, I’ll bet the real Shiro wouldn’t wait before going to rescue Keith. He’s super important to him! There’s just no way.”

Shiro, who was restrained by rope and tied one of the lounge chairs, scoffed. “You are all acting insane. A clone? Please! Lance is just upset about Keith being abducted.”

Lance whirled to face him and growled. “Of course I’m upset about Keith being captured! Do you know what one of the last things I said to him was?  _ I said that I never wanted to hear his voice again!! _ And now,” He breathed out and in shakily. “Now I might  _ actually _ never hear his voice again. Do you know how-!”

His voice broke, and he covered his eyes, softly shivering. “We need to get him back. I really don’t care who’s the leader, and what you think. Keith is going to come back to us.”

Shiro sighed in exasperation. “Lance, we can’t do that. .We need everyone to be here, safe.”

Allura grimaced. “Shiro is right in the notion that we need everyone to stay safe, but I believe Keith’s life holds equal importance. He is an essential part of our family, and I believe that none of us would ever want anything bad to happen to him.”

Shiro groaned. “But the rest of us?”

Hunk stood up. “The rest of us are all willing to risk our lives to get Keith back safe and sound. I believe that he’s a clone now, the real Shiro would agree with us.”

Allura and Lance nodded. “Good.” She said. “My belief has been strengthened as well. We will keep him in a cryopod to be examined, until we can find solid evidence that this is indeed the real Shiro. Does everyone agree?”

Everyone nodded assurance except for “Shiro” who growled and tried to shake himself loose from Allura’s iron grip. 

Coran stepped forwards with a small syringe, which he injected into Shiro’s arm.

He soon stilled and fell silent.

“What did you do?” Pidge asked. “I mean, he could be of viable use to us if he really is a clone. I could reprogram him to work for us, and stuff like that.”

“I completely agree,” Coran stated. “However, we do need to sedate him if we are to place him in a cryopod.”

Hunk stepped forwards. “I could carry him.”

“Thank you very much, Hunk.” Allura said wearily. “Well, we will all need to set a course as soon as possible for the place Keith is most likely to be, Zarkon’s lair itself.”

 

~KEITH~

 

God, everything was so loud.

Keith’s ears were ringing, and he felt like there were people all around him screaming bloody murder. 

He groaned, and tried to reach a hand towards his head, but he was too weak.

He felt the ringing get louder on one side, and he squeezed his eyes shut tighter before drifting once again into unconsciousness.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright yall, sorry about so long between updates! It's just that I completely lost inspiration for this story, especially after season 8 (aka garbage). I don't really feel like working on this story anymore, and I'm so sorry to let all of you down! I'm just publishing everything that I've already finished, because I feel bad for leaving it on my computer with nobody reading it. If anyone ever wants to pick up this story and finish it, be my guest. Thank you so much for reading though! I have a few other finished works for Voltron, so if anybody wants to read those have fun! Thank you all so much!

**Author's Note:**

> There's chapter one! I hope you all liked it! Ugh, I don't know why I torture Keith so much. Probably because That's just my way of expressing love towards a character. In all honesty, the inspiration for the machine that Haggar uses came from the Princessbride, so cheers to you if you caught that.  
> Please remember, I love kudos, but I love comments even more! Nothing puts a bigger smile on my face than seeing that others enjoy the work I am doing. And I also really appreciate constructive criticism, so please, help me improve!  
> If you can think of any tags I'm missing, tell me, because I'm bad at tagging.  
> Thank you!


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